Explore an aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum—all under one living roof.

Incoming!

Narrated by George Takei, our newest original planetarium show explores asteroids, comets, and the hard-hitting stories of our cosmic origins.

Embark on a journey back in time and across the Solar System, following the paths of asteroids and comets that have collided with Earth—and those that roam far from home. These ancient objects travel billions of years before reaching Earth, and their impact can be so powerful that just one collision can change the course of life on our planet.

Scientists aren't waiting for asteroids and comets to come to us to learn more about them—get an up-close look at spacecraft sent to rocky asteroids and icy comets to collect invaluable data. You’ll follow the trek of the Chelyabinsk meteor as it entered the Earth's atmosphere in 2013 and visualize major shifts in the history of the Solar System billions of years in the making—and all in under an hour.

Vivid Visualizations

Every frame of Incoming! was created in-house by the Academy’s Visualization Studio, a seasoned team of animators and engineers. To create this engaging visual journey with utmost accuracy, they relied on scientific and astronomical data and consulted with dozens of science advisors.

Surveying the Cosmos

Scientists are finding new ways to track potential cosmic threats before they reach us. Get a closer look at some of the tools—including the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in Chile and the proposed space-based Sentinel telescope—helping scientists detect moving objects near Earth.

Sounds of Space

Space isn't exactly conducive to sound recordings, so the Academy turned to longtime collaborators Mike Jennings to compose music and Christopher Hedge to design soundscapes for the show. Jenning's soundtrack is available for purchase on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play.

Barringer and Beyond

Geologists have identified nearly 200 impact craters around the world, from Arizona's Barringer Crater—which marks a bad day for local life some 50,000 years ago—to the Chicxulub formation in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, an impact that led to the demise of the dinosaurs and provided an opportunity for our mammal ancestors to flourish.

The California Academy of Sciences is a renowned scientific and educational institution dedicated to exploring, explaining, and sustaining life on Earth. Based in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, it is home to a world-class aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum—all under one living roof.